Some people are infatuated with doing things themselves. This is a great idea in many instances but when it comes to the lemon law it is a horrible idea.
First off the legislation has given consumers the power to hire attorneys and force the manufacturers to pay for the attorney. Thus the government feels that there is a disproportionate imbalance of power between consumers and vehicle manufacturers. This is why the statutes are designed to shift power back to consumers by allowing them to hire attorneys and have a fighting chance against the manufacturers.
Secondly, manufacturers absolutely hate the fact that you have the right to an attorney and go out of their way to persuade you to deal with them without an attorney. Why? Because they want to keep the imbalance of power so they can trick you, take advantage of you, underpay you, mislead you, make you sign a waiver for $5 and sell you another car rather than give you a $20,000 or $80,000 refund. Most manufacturers have information on their websites about customer complaints and customer rights. However not a single one states that you have a right to hire an attorney for whom they have an obligation to pay!
Thirdly, a skilled lemon law attorney can maximize your refund if your vehicle is defective and will cost you nothing. Our firm gets calls every week from consumers who have contacted their vehicle manufacturer, obtained a settlement offer and have no idea if the offer is fair or not. Almost as often we get calls from customers who have signed such offers accepting the terms therein but have then regretted doing so. Most of the time when we assess those offers we realize the offer was below what the consumer was entitled to receive. For example, if the client was supposed to receive a $30,000 refund he got $20,000. Or if a client was supposed to receive a $20,000 refund she got a $5,000 credit towards a new car.
Since the statute makes the manufacturers responsible for the consumers’ attorney’s fees in a lemon law buyback case there is no logic not to retain an attorney. It is like taking medication without consulting a doctor even when you have full medical insurance or learning to play golf without an instructor even when your best friend is a golf pro and would not charge you a penny for some lessons. Another way to look at it is to consider whether you would take a professional boxer with you to a fight if you know the guy you will be fighting will be bringing his boxer friend or would you go alone and risk getting beat up.
The choice is yours. The law is there for you but only you can make that choice.
If you think you have a lemon law or dealer fraud case call us for a free consultation. Afterward, you can assess whether retaining us to fight for you is a good idea or not. Call today at 818,553.1000.
